Pfizer president expects to see strong Lyrica growth in fibromyalgia sales

SAN FRANCISCO According to Ian Read, president of Pfizer’s worldwide pharmaceutical operations, the seizure drug Lyrica should see a strong growth following its approval for the treatment of fibromyalgia earlier this summer.

Read, speaking at the 37th Annual Bank of America Investment Conference, said the new indication tripled the patient population for the product, and the approval represented a virtual textbook case of addressing an unmet medical need. Of the estimated six million patients suffering from fibromyalgia, 40 percent are undiagnosed. Of those undiagnosed patients, 90 percent visit a doctor for their symptoms, Read said. Only one in 10 fibromyalgia patients is satisfied with the current therapy.

Lyrica had $405 million in sales during the second quarter of 2007, a 49 percent increase from the same period last year.